Review: An Anti-Semite Learns of His Jewish Roots in ‘Keep Quiet’

“You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,” says an old song about bigotry. But to hear the former far-right Hungarian politician Csanad Szegedi tell it, he was essentially a self-taught anti-Semite. In “Keep Quiet,” a documentary directed by Sam Blair and Joseph Martin, Mr. Szegedi recalls the pride he felt as a student reading far-right newspapers pushing a nationalist narrative.

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A preview of the film.Published OnFeb. 16, 2017CreditImage by Gábor Máté/Kino Lorber

Anne Applebaum, a historian and columnist for The Washington Post, notes in the film that Hungary “is a part of the world where history has been manipulated.” Using video footage from the early 2000s to track Mr. Szegedi’s rise to the vice presidency of the nationalist Jobbik party, the film shows a TV ad in which the Jobbik platform is put forth: “Protect Hungarian lands! Restore law and order! Multinationals must pay taxes! To jail with the culprits! Because Hungary belongs to the Hungarians!” For his part, Mr. Szegedi disdains what he calls “cosmopolitan” Jews who insist “all Hungary gave the world was peach schnapps and baggy pants.”

Then Mr. Szegedi learns an inconvenient truth: He is of Jewish lineage. His grandmother was an Auschwitz survivor. His colleagues initially suggest that this could be a good thing, inoculating the party from accusations of race hate. That strategy seems to last about half a minute, and Mr. Szegedi is expelled. He begins to embrace his Jewish identity, perhaps out of necessity. “Why didn’t you stop me?” he asks his family about his political activity. Even if you are unmoved by Mr. Szegedi’s personal story (I found him somewhat sympathetic), what “Keep Quiet” tells us about its larger themes is upsettingly pertinent.

Keep Quiet

Directors

Sam Blair, Joseph Martin

Star

Csanad Szegedi

Running Time

1h 30m

Genre

Documentary

Movie data powered by IMDb.com

Not rated. In English and Hungarian, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes.